How to apply for a bachelor?

Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4

Step 1: Create an account ...................................................................................... 5

The field “statute” ............................................................................................... 6

Bank account number.......................................................................................... 6

Address ............................................................................................................. 6

Click ‘Save’ ........................................................................................................ 6

Step 2: Privacy preferences .................................................................................... 7

Step 3: Prior education .......................................................................................... 8

Secondary education ........................................................................................... 8

Click ‘save’ to proceed ......................................................................................... 9

Higher education ...............................................................................................10

Click ‘save’ ........................................................................................................10

Click ‘continue’ ..................................................................................................11

Step 4: Social Services ..........................................................................................12

Not applicable for foreign students .......................................................................12

Click ‘save’ ........................................................................................................12

Step 5: Program Request ......................................................................................13

Scholarship program ..........................................................................................13

Working and Studying ........................................................................................13

PEL/IEG ..........................................................................................................13

Choice of program .............................................................................................15

Click ‘save’ ........................................................................................................15

Step 6: Document checklist ...................................................................................16

Step 7: Intake Survey ...........................................................................................17

Step 8: Finishing your application ...........................................................................17

Click on the green “Finish” button ........................................................................17

Frequently asked questions ....................................................................................18

I cannot finish my application, now what do I do? ..................................................18

When will my file be screened? ............................................................................18

Where can I check the status of my file? ...............................................................18

How can I add documents to my application file? ...................................................18

I get an error message when I try to upload documents, how can I complete my file? 18

How long will the application process take? ...........................................................18

I applied for the wrong program, can I switch programs?........................................18

My question is not listed? ....................................................................................18

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IMPORTANT

Please note that we only offer one English-taught bachelor at the moment, namely the

Bachelor in Social Sciences. More information about this program can be found here.

DEADLINES Please consult our website for the different deadlines. Applications received after these

dates will not be taken into consideration.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS All applications must be complete upon submission. There are general required

documents, the same for all of our programs, and program-specific documents.

Chinese nationals who obtained their degree in China also require an APS-certificate.

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INTRODUCTION

Your admission application will go through the following steps:

Step 1

• Create account

• Provide personal details

Step 2 • You receive a temporary user account for your application

Step 3 • Complete your online application

Step 4 • 1st Formal screening after receipt of your application

Step 5 • Academic screening of your application by faculty

Step 6 • Formal screening of your application

Step 7 • You will receive final result of your application

Step 8 • You can use your conditional letter of acceptance to enroll

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STEP 1: CREATE AN ACCOUNT

Click “create account”.

You should now see the screen below. A username will be created for you (V_). You will

keep this username during the entire application procedure. The password is one of your

own choice. Belgian citizens or students with a residence permit can use their electronic

identity card and a card reader to start filling out the application form. Please note that

the name you provide will appear on your letter of acceptance and diploma, so

you should make sure it is official and filled out correctly.

TIP: “Name” refers to your family name or surname and “first name” refers to

your given name.

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THE FIELD “STATUTE” This field will be filled out automatically for Belgian and European citizens. Non-European

citizens will be able to choose from several options:

Students (who will be) staying in Belgium with a student visa should choose “Other”.

Students staying in Belgium with a different type of visa can choose the nature of their

stay.

BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER Please leave the field for the bank account number empty.

ADDRESS Only students with a Belgian national ID number (or Belgian national register number)

can provide a Belgian address here. All other students should fill an address from their

home country.

CLICK ‘SAVE’ Once you have filled out the entire page, click “Save” at the bottom of the page.

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STEP 2: PRIVACY PREFERENCES

You will be able to adjust your privacy preferences on this page. The university will only

disclose your personal information to third parties if you give your permission and if it is

deemed beneficial for you.

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STEP 3: PRIOR EDUCATION

The third step is the most important step of the application procedure. This is where

you need to fill out the details of your prior education.

SECONDARY EDUCATION Fill out the information of your secondary education in the first tab.

Students who have not obtained their diploma in Belgium should choose “Abroad”.

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You can then specify in which country you have obtained your diploma. Fill out the rest of

the page when you have done so.

CLICK ‘SAVE’ TO PROCEED

After clicking “Save”, you will be asked to fill out the fields regarding your higher

education. Leave this page blank if you do not have any higher education.

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HIGHER EDUCATION Fill out all required fields and click ‘save’.

CLICK ‘SAVE’ If you have obtained more than one higher education diploma, please fill out the details

again and click ‘save’ again.

The admissions office will screen your file based on this information. It is in your best

interest to fill this out as accurately as possible.

Please only mention diplomas that you have obtained. Credits obtained in the context

of an exchange program do not qualify.

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CLICK ‘CONTINUE’ You can now see your prior education at the bottom of the page.

If you have listed (all) your higher education diploma(s) under ‘my higher education’,

click ‘continue’.

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STEP 4: SOCIAL SERVICES

NOT APPLICABLE FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS Please note that this page is specifically designed for Belgian students. Students with a

student visa are not eligible for a scholarship of the Flemish Community.

You can ignore this part and click ‘save’.

CLICK ‘SAVE’

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STEP 5: PROGRAM REQUEST

Select the programs of your choice on this page.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM First you are asked if you will receive a scholarship for your program. You will need to

submit proof of this later. You cannot apply for a scholarship on this page.

Please leave this section blank. Filling out this page might create a technical error. You

can ignore this part and click ‘save’.

Students who have been granted a scholarship can upload the document later at step 6,

‘Document checklist’. It can be uploaded as extra document. If there is no room left, it

can also be sent to admissions@vub.ac.be.

WORKING AND STUDYING Once you have filled out the scholarship information, you can opt for taking day or

evening classes. Note: not every program provides evening classes!

You need to fill out additional information if you choose to follow evening classes.

PEL/IEG

PEL / IEG are meant for working students who will apply for paid educational leave with

their Belgian employer.

TIP: If you are not currently working for a Belgian employer, choose ‘day

classes’ and ‘not applicable’.

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Regular students who wish to follow evening classes choose “not applicable”. They also

need to confirm their work situation.

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CHOICE OF PROGRAM Finally, you need to indicate the program of your choice.

Please tick the box ‘this is my first enrolment within Flemish Higher Education’ if you

apply for your first Bachelor’s program in Flanders. Exchange programs do not count.

Please do not tick the box ‘[…] to combine enrolments’.

Students who require a visa need to study full time!

TIP: If you cannot find your desired training level, check if you have saved your

previous higher education, if the scholarship field is filled out (if so, leave it

blank) and whether you have selected day classes. All these parameters

influence the number of choices in your program request.

TIP: All programs ending with (NL) are programs solely taught in Dutch. If you

wish to apply for one of these programs you will need to provide proof of Dutch

language proficiency.

TIP: If you cannot find your program whilst you selected a scholarship (on top

of this page), leave the scholarship section blank. This information can be

added to your file at a later stage. Our office receives lists of all selected

scholarship candidates.

CLICK ‘SAVE’

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STEP 6: DOCUMENT CHECKLIST

This page contains an overview of all the required documents. These documents need to

be uploaded in PDF or JPEG format.

If you do not possess the required documents yet, these can be uploaded later in your

Student Self Service. Once you have uploaded (all) the documents, click “Save” and then

“Continue”.

For more information regarding the required documents in general, you can consult this

link.

The following documents are required for the bachelor in Social Sciences:

Secondary education diploma

Copy of identity card and/or passport

A recent passport picture

A motivation letter (template)

Proof of language proficiency (more information)

Chinese nationals who obtained a degree in China will also need an APS-certificate

TIP: If you did not obtain your diploma yet, use a registration certificate instead

and provide us with preliminary grade sheets.

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STEP 7: INTAKE SURVEY

Please note that this page is specifically designed for Belgian students. You can ignore

this part and click ‘save’.

STEP 8: FINISHING YOUR APPLICATION

You can now finish your application!

CLICK ON THE GREEN “FINISH” BUTTON

Click on the green ‘Finish’ button to submit your application.

TIP: Once you have clicked on the button, your application will be mentioned

with the status ‘waitlist’ or ‘application’.

TIP: Only click on the finish button once per program request. If you applied for

the same program twice, try not to finish it at the end. You will receive every

communication twice, which may cause confusion.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I CANNOT FINISH MY APPLICATION, NOW WHAT DO I DO? If you get an error message while you try to finish your application, send an e-mail to

admissions@vub.ac.be in which you mention your temporary user account.

WHEN WILL MY FILE BE SCREENED? As soon as we have received your application, your file will be placed on the screening

list. Depending on the number of application files, it can take up to 4 weeks to get your

file screened.

WHERE CAN I CHECK THE STATUS OF MY FILE? You can check the status of you file by logging in to the Student SelfService with your

temporary user account. If you click on ‘Admissions and registration’, you can see where

your file is currently at.

HOW CAN I ADD DOCUMENTS TO MY APPLICATION FILE? You can log in to your Student SelfService with your temporary user account. Navigate to

Main Menu > Self Service> Student Admission > Self Service enrolment, select the

program you applied for and click ‘continue’. You can upload documents by clicking the

paperclip icon.

I GET AN ERROR MESSAGE WHEN I TRY TO UPLOAD DOCUMENTS, HOW CAN I COMPLETE MY

FILE? You can send your extra documents to admissions@vub.ac.be. We will add them to your

application file and send you a notification when we have done so.

HOW LONG WILL THE APPLICATION PROCESS TAKE? Your file will be screened by 3 different parties, more if your file needs extra documents.

Therefore, it can take up to 2 months to get your application result. However, you will be

updated of each step of the process via e-mail.

I APPLIED FOR THE WRONG PROGRAM, CAN I SWITCH PROGRAMS? If you noticed you applied for the incorrect program, please fill out the application

website again using your temporary user account. If you send an e-mail to

admissions@vub.ac.be, we will cancel the incorrect application.

MY QUESTION IS NOT LISTED? Send us an e-mail at admissions@vub.ac.be.